The present invention relates to a microfilm reader scanner which projects an image on a microfilm onto a screen for observing or reads and edits such image and outputs it to an image forming apparatus.
With increase in the use of microfilm as an information recording media, there has been an increasing demand for image editing, for example, for masking a portion of information recorded on a microfilm or for trimming the marginal portion while leaving the other portion.
To meet such a demand there has been developed a microfilm reader printer having an image editing function. More particularly, for example, in an electrophotographic type microfilm reader printer, shutters are disposed in an optical projection path for interrupting an image light therethrough, and when it is necessary to mask an image, the shutter is operated to cut off a part of the image light in accordance with the portion to be masked.
In the above conventional reader printer having an image editing function, due to the structural restriction of disposing shutters in the optical projection path, the image to be projected is divided into relatively large blocks and image editing such as masking or trimming is performed for each unit of the divided blocks, so it has been impossible to effect a minute editing in a small area of an image and that in a desired shape.